Instagram is rolling out branded content ads to all advertisers making it possible for brands to create ads using organic posts from the influencers they have relationships with The company said the branded content ads will be available to all advertisers over the coming weeks and branded content ads for Stories will roll out over the coming months Before brands can use influencer posts as ads the content creator must grant their business partners the brands they have relationships with access to promote their posts Once the creator or influencer has done this via their Advanced Settings page brands will see the influencers posts in the Ads Manager under Existing Posts and can run the content as an ad within the Instagram newsfeed or Stories format Why we should care Influencer marketing is growing exponentially A recent report from Socialbakers revealed Instagram influencers are posting 150 more sponsored content since last year Meanwhile an Ipsos study commissioned by Facebook found that 68 of daily Instagram users reported they use the app to interact with creators As more creators deliver branded content and more users flock to see what their favorite influencers are sharing its only natural for brands to get in on the buzz Making it easy for advertisers to create ads from influencer posts saves the time and creative efforts on the advertisers part and obviously helps Instagrams bottom line as brands will have more ad options available with influencers doing the heavy lifting of pulling together creative for an ad Promoting content directly from an influencers handle inherently gives the post more authenticity than coming from a brand handle said Old Navys VP of brand communications Liat Weingarten Were seeing significantly higher engagement rates using this strategy When a brand elects to use an influencer post as an ad the post will include Paid partnership language that lists the brands name on the post More on the news Instagram first confirmed it was testing branded content ads in March but had only made the ad format available to select advertisers at the time Eight-nine percent of marketers reported influencer marketing ROI is comparable or better than other marketing channels according to a MediaKixs 2019 Influencer Marketing survey Two-thirds of the marketer surveyed said they were increasing their influencer marketing budgets this year Recently Instagram has tested removing Like counts from posts a move influencer marketing agencies say will result in more high-quality content from influencers If youre looking for a conference that will prep you to navigate concrete pain points in marketing operations and technology and organizational challenges you face daily MarTech is the place to be Join us September 16-18 2019 in Boston MA for best practices and relevant case studies from senior marketers Explore the possibilities at the intersection of marketing technology and management View rates and register now